Who We Are

Captain Ken Maff grew up in Australia on a marine farm and hatchery, successfully breeding snapper, grouper, oysters, and scallops.

He graduated in Marine Biology, Science & Aquaculture at the University of Tasmania. He became an expert in marine life reproduction systems, working on many different species in several hatcheries and sea farms throughout Australia.

Ken complements marine biology expertise with a unique track record of large ship construction and operation, extending his career as Captain spanning over 25+ years at sea and accumulated over 180,000 nautical miles and 20+ Atlantic crossings.

In 2019, after years of being a direct witness of how human activities have affected marine life and ecosystems with the consequence of the destruction of the oceans’ richest areas, he decided to take action and created Sea Life Rescue.

Founder and CEO of Oxford Portfolio Advisers Ltd, Rupert’s career in finance started in Asia in the early 90s and includes 20 years in the international bond markets with Standard Bank, Credit Agricole and most recently, Edmond de Rothschild, London. In 2007 he was instrumental in the launch of Europe’s first listed Sustainable Forestry fund and has since worked on a broad variety of projects covering food security and sustainable agriculture, primarily in less developed countries. Rupert has a degree in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford

Graham Thomson moved into the large private yachting industry after a successful career of 10 years with the British Royal Navy, where he was heavily involved in all aspects of the aircraft industry, operating in front-line environments. This led to the researching and charting of large areas of Antarctica and the surrounding oceans. This has provided Graham with a deep knowledge of the sea and its relationship with the land.

Bertrand is the founder of EarthEnergy Partners, a NYC-based strategic and financial advisory firm partnering with innovative ventures, investment funds and developers with a vision for building a better world. Bertrand is 25-year finance veteran with a global track record in investment banking, venture growth, environmental & social impact, and renewable energy. Bertrand has advised and partnered on 100+ investments and transactions totaling $16 billion in North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe, working with leading Fortune 500 companies, private equity funds, governments, impact investors, startups and NGOs.

She has raised major gifts for Bates College, the University of Delaware, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, and the Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach, Florida. Lesley earned two M.S. Degrees from the University of Maine, managing conservation research projects focused on wetland mitigation / vernal pool design, and forest resource economics. She has consulted with a range of nonprofit organizations providing services in strategic planning, major donor program development, planned giving, and grant writing.

Lori Bembanaste is an extroverted, client centric leader with 15+ years of solid project management, continuous improvement and organizational change experience, preceded by several years of financial, strategic and management engagements. She is passionate about building high-performance teams with a commitment to operational excellence, scalable growth and customer experience.

Minh pays close attention to what each client communicates and supports the day to day social media activities. Vast experience creating content and managing online content and managing the Sea Life Rescue brand.

Minh joined Australian international financial giant the Macquarie Group, spending a year as an admin at the Perth offices of Macquarie Bank Ltd., followed by six months at the Toronto, Canada, offices of Macquarie North America Ltd.

She soon traded the snowy winters of Canada for the warm waters of South Florida, where over the course of a dozen years she honed her high-end service skills working as a crew member aboard a fleet of private and charter luxury yachts.

Chané has many years of experience in office operations, payroll services, and bookkeeping. Her most outstanding job qualities are her diligence to detail and customer service.

With more than five years in the marine industry and over ten consecutive years of working in an administrative capacity, Chané understands the importance of maintaining excellent client relationships with existing clients and loves to cultivate new relationships with potential clients. She is outstanding at office organization and in assisting people in a very professional, yet in a compassionate way.

Chané holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Barry University and is a certified Notary Signing Agent and mobile notary.

Brian Smith began his career in community and economic development/finance as a volunteer in the U.S. Peace Corps. Assigned to the Republic of the Philippines, he directed development projects and rural finance programs in Sorsogon Province, and was then tasked with developing a nationwide communications and public relations campaign and strategic planning effort on behalf of Peace Corps/Philippines.

Brian has served on the board of the Jacksonville Economic Development Company, Family Foundations, the City of Jacksonville Community Development Advisory Council, Shoshannah Center for the Arts, and was a founding board member of the MicroLoan Foundation USA. He is also a member of the Association of Foreign Intelligence Officers (AFIO).

He has taught nonprofit organizational development through the University of Florida IFAS, through Jacksonville University’s Adult Education program, through the Greater Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Cultural Affairs Council of Northeast Florida and the U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida.

In the U.S. and internationally, he has worked with nonprofits, government agencies, private companies, individual entrepreneurs and investment groups to “connect the dots” and facilitate economic development projects, mergers and acquisitions, and arrange financing for multi-million dollar ventures.

Jason has over 30 years of experience in oceanography and renewable energy. He is an expert in carbon dioxide chemistry, algae primary productivity and renewable energy asset development. Jason was an officer and scientist with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, an oceanographer for University of Miami, University of Washington and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Jason has worked for Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Army and the Veteran’s Administration building renewable energy assets since 2010. He has served as consultant for multiple algae production firms to design, build and operate facilities. Mr. Masters owns and operates his own oyster farm & hatchery.

Jason has a Bachelor’s & Masters of Science in Marine Chemistry from the University of Miami and an MBA in Finance & Strategy from the University of Rochester.

Lloyd is a licensed marine engineer with extensive sea-going experience working in large ships and luxury yachts. After retiring from a twenty-year career as a marine engineer in the Navy, he moved to luxury yachts.

Lloyd holds several engineering degrees and diplomas. He has spent most of his adult life practicing his craft and traveling the waterways of the world. In 2012, Lloyd completed a sailing race circumnavigation of the planet. During his extensive explorations, Lloyd has developed a deep understanding and respect for the ocean ecosystem that sustains us all.

Lindsay has been involved with the aquaculture industry for over 26 years, including completing a Masters of Applied Science in Aquaculture at the University of Tasmania. Lindsay is a director of Pure Aquatics and is currently overseeing the biology and technology of Sea Life Rescue’s future designs.

Lindsay and his team at Pure Aquatics works closely with industry and research institutions, both nationally and internationally, with experience including re-circulation system design, project management, installations, engineering, sizing, applying and general aquatic consultancy, and product development.

His work covers virtually the entire industry, including most of the commercially grown species in Australia and overseas, hatchery, grow out (indoor and outdoor) and the live seafood holding and public aquarium fields.

Professor Neil Davies is the Executive Director of the Gump South Pacific Research Station, Neil Davies is also a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science, and VP Science Director of Tetiaroa Society. Based in French Polynesia since 2000, his research focuses on sustainability science and how biodiversity genomics can contribute to a computational model of place.

With the Island Digital Ecosystem Avatar (IDEA) Consortium, he is working to establish Moorea and Tetiaroa as the world’s best-known social-ecological systems. After graduating in Zoology from Oxford University, Davies received his Ph.D. in evolutionary genetics from University College London and has conducted fieldwork across the Caribbean, Latin America, and Pacific Islands.
Professor Neil Davies is co-chair of the Genomic Observatories Network and serves/d on the boards of the Western Association of Marine Labs, Tetiaroa Society, and the Genomic Standards Consortium. He is co-author of the book “Biocode: The New Age of Genomics” (Oxford University Press, 2015).

Professor Hunter Lenihan’s primary research interests lie in the fields of applied marine and fisheries ecology. He teaches, conducts research, and advises graduate students at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. There he helps lead a professional master’s degree program and a PhD research training program. He works in marine and estuarine ecosystems to advance ecological science, resource management, conservation, and restoration.

Lenihan’s research involves population and community ecology, fluid dynamics and benthic-pelagic coupling, ecotoxicity, disease ecology, aquaculture, and fisheries biology focused on a wide variety of applications, including the restoration of oysters and oysters reefs; designing, establishing, and evaluating marine reserves for conservation and fisheries enhancement; collaborating with fishers to develop sustainable fishing practices; and working with chemists and chemical engineers to assess and reduce the biological impacts of anthropogenic contaminants, including nanomaterials.

He works on coral reefs, beaches, and temperate latitude rocky reefs, and well as in estuaries, the deep sea, and polar environments. Among other activities, Lenihan is an Associate Editor in Chief of a leading ecology journal, and a founding board member of the Honda Marine Science Foundation.